The Angel from the Tree of Beginning
by Samayo Kaze
Summary: Isabell should really learn not to get involved with Ash, she really should. Things never go well. But maybe this time will be different. After all, this time she is not doing it for him, nor for herself. No, this one was entirely for Lucario. Time travel fict. set Au to the 8th movie.
1. Arceus must really hate me

" _Thoughts"_

" _ **Telepathy/ Aura speech"**_

"Speaking"

 _Singing_

 **Ok, this is my first Pokémon story, wish me luck I'll need it.**

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 **Bam** , I ducked under the Hyper-beam aimed at my face. **Slice,** I twist away from an unknown leaf attack that would have shredded my shoulder gaining a tear in my shirt. **Thunk** , I hit the cliff face behind me hard, my Aura Shield shattering from the force of the boulder it had blocked. "Arg . . ." I rose unsteadily to my feet, glaring murderously at the ring of pokémon surrounding me. A low growl vibrated deeply in my throat and chest as I activated my Aura Sight. My surroundings lit up with the resonating aura of the rocky landscape, with brighter and more concentrated sources of Aura coming from my attackers. I tensed, my muscles protesting violently, at the sudden appearance of several more pokémon converging with the army from behind the rock. " _Great, they have me completely surrounded."_ I shifted slightly to prepare for another barrage from the powerful opponents that had me trapped. _"How do I always manage to get myself into these situations? This is getting ridiculous!"_ I brought up a Shield as a powerful Flamethrower attack was launched, followed by a Gust to form a formidable combo that fed off each other. My Shield faltered, but held and I quickly pushed more energy into it as I saw an Iron Tail coming. My breathing was labored and unsteady as I wavered dangerously before leaning heavily on the cliff face that had been protecting my back. I was pretty much out of extra Aura, ok so I was pretty much out of Aura in general and was probably dying and just could not feel it yet. I felt a brief flash of terror as my Shield cracked and swallowed hard, pushing myself fully upright as I took up a defensive stance. I let my Aura Sight fall as my Shield gave way and another boulder came flying at me. A sharp movement to my left combined with a roll to my right placed me behind a fallen rock formation and offered a slight reprieve from the heavy firepower. A powerful wave of pain shook me as I doubled over as I felt the effects of the poisoning I had received via a gas cloud to the face combined with an Iron Tail to the chest. I gasped painfully as I carefully peered around the edge of the rock before jerking back quickly as an Ember attack struck the rock three inches from where my face had been. I readied myself to dash out and deliver a few attacks of my own when something stuck the ground nearby and a huge explosion sounded. I flinched, ducking my head down and away from the source of the blast. As the smoke cleared and the dust settled, I saw a familiar pair of idiots facing my opponents. " _Finally. . ."_ I watched as the two quickly pushed the attacking pokémon back before the taller of the two formed a powerful Aura Shield of his own and the smaller one rushed over to where I was hiding. _**"**_ _ **Are you alright, Isabell?"**_ I shifted my attention from the enemy to the concerned face before me. I offered him a tired smile as I moved to rest more of my weight against the rocks, "I have been poisoned, but not badly. I will be fine after I get some rest." He frowned as he sensed that I was lying and used his own Aura to scan over my injuries. His frown became more pronounced as his Aura probed me gently, _**"You are going to need more than just rest, you are covered in injuries and your Aura has almost been extinguished. You are lucky we even managed to find you."**_

"You did give us quite the time trying to find your location, even with us working together. Next time, save it for training alright?" Two heads shot up and I smiled slightly, and guiltily, at the soft rebuke.

"Right, of course. Sorry." I changed my attention to the still very concerned face in front of me, "Sorry Lucario."

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 _Stand firm in the face of your enemies and show not fear_

 _For if you do not falter then you will not fall_

 _Do not what is simple but that which is right_

 _For if your heart is pure and your actions are true_

 _Then in your time of need when all else is through_

 _On your own, you will never stand_

 _And forever will there be_

 _Someone holding out their hand_


	2. Nightmares from a Past Rewrit

" _Thoughts"_

" _ **Telepathy/ Aura speech"**_

"Speaking"

 _Singing_

 **I do not own Pokémon.**

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 _At this point, I think I should explain what is going on so I don't confuse anyone even more. Honestly, looking back at it all I can say with complete certainly that this was all Ash's fault. I never used to get into all this crazy stuff before. At least with Red he knew what he was doing. Ash just blundered through everything with all the grace of a drunk Charizard and after the almost world ending event was over just left to continue on his journey, leaving everyone else wondering what had just happened. I swear at least half of his successes are just accidental luck, but with how many times it has happen he probably needs luck. I am of two minds on this: one is that I still can't believe an Absol is not constantly following him around and two is that he really needs to stop jumping between powerful pokémon that are fighting each other. But I have gone off topic, where was I? Oh, that's right, it was all Ash's fault. I had been perfectly happy traveling around on my own before that, helping out Celebi with time distortions and smoothing out possible calamities. And then I ran into the world's disaster magnate, and that threw everything else out the window. It is not all bad though, traveling with Ash is pretty great. Besides, if I had not met Ash I would not have the family I have now. So while it definitely was Ash's fault, I am definitely glad it happened . . ._

 **Thunk!** "Oi, I'm up, I'm up! Get off me!" I glowered at the little mouse pokémon that had taken a running leap off a tree branch to wake me up. Pikachu just smiled innocently at me before running off to find his trainer. I grumbled unhappily as I packed up my stuff before moving over to where Brock was finishing the food. I was greeted with a pair of good mornings as I slouched down on the log that was serving as our bench this morning. I returned their greeting with a disgruntled noise that _just_ couldn't pass as a growl. I shifted my glare from my bowl of food to the figure emerging from the tree line. "Ash," I began, "If you don't want me to end up skinning Pikachu, KEEP HIM AWAY FROM ME IN THE MORNINGS!" So I lost my cool a little bit there at the end, just a little.

"Ahh, come on Bell, Pikachu didn't mean any harm. You know that, and besides you're always saying that." Ash said, rolling his eyes as he joined me on the log. "Yeah, well don't push me." I replied even as I continued eating. Ash was right, I would never actually skin Pikachu and they both new that. I sighed as I placed the bowl in my lap so I could cradle my head with both hands, I had only just woken up and was already having to deal with a headache. Life is so not fair. "Hey, are you ok?" I open one eye to see Ash and Pikachu looking worriedly at me. _"Arg, great I don't want to worry them."_ "Yeah, I'm alright. Just didn't sleep well last night is all." I raised my head and offered them smile as I stretched. His frowned eased up, which I was glad for, but Ash still seemed worried. "Pika, Pika." Pikachu drew his attention away by grabbing his hat and taking off with it. _"Thanks Pikachu. . ."_ I brought a hand back up to my face to press on the bridge of my nose, my thoughts drawn to my dream last night. It had been horrible. Everything was dead and rocky, but that hadn't been the worst part. There were bodies everywhere, the ground had been turned into a bloody mud and the screams of those still alive ringing and echoing through the cannons. There was nothing I could do. As always, I tried to chase down the screams, if only to find someone I could still help. As I turned one last corner, I was suddenly hit with so many emotions. I staggered, falling against the rock face I had been following, my hands rising up to grip my head. I felt so many terrible things: hate, pain, terror, horror it just wouldn't stop. The emotions were so strong I couldn't move, I just trembled pathetically. Then I heard the sound of an attack powering up, and with great difficulty looked up to find a large blue sphere being fired right at me. I could move, I could never move. All I could do was watch with wide eyes as the attack ripped into me, and it hurt. It hurt so bad I couldn't even scream. Then everything was black and Pikachu was slamming down into my chest. I am sure that Pikachu knew I had been having nightmares and that was why he was jumping on me. I was glad he was waking me up, even if the nightmare made me snap easily in the mornings. I always made sure to make it up to Pikachu, even though I don't think he minds me threatening him. The bushes rustle as Ash pushed through them, hat now firmly back on his head. "Come on guys, lets head out already. I want to get a move on." He cried out in exasperation at Dawn, Brock, and I still sitting on the logs. I frowned, moving to clean out my own finished bowl. I had only just rejoined Ash fro my own travels and so far no one had mentioned where we were headed. "Hey Ash, where are we headed this time," I asked as I fetched by bag form where I had left it earlier. "Oh, that's right you don't know, do you? We're head to a city called Rota, they're having a festival there that involves a battle tournament!" Ash offered me a huge grin at the thought of a tournament, regardless of how large or small it would be. I smiled back weakly, but thankfully he didn't seem to notice. _"Rota. . .Why does that make me feel so afraid? I've never been there before, and actually that's kind of strange. I've been almost everywhere. . ."_ I frowned, nervously looking down the road before me. " _Rota, huh?"_ "Come on Isabell, keep up!" I was pulled out of my thoughts as Ash decided that I wasn't moving fast enough. Sure enough, the others where quite some ways in front of me. I smiled softly as I shook off any lingering thoughts about my dream or our destination. "Oh, don't worry Ash, I can keep up just fine!" And with that, I _moved._ I don't usually use my abilities for things like this, but I was felling down still and a good run always helped raise my spirits. After all, most pokémon couldn't travel the quarter mile distance between me and the group in only a few seconds. That didn't bother me though, I was fine with being different and besides traveling with Ash was dangerous. I needed my speed to survive all the crazy encounters we had together. After all, Ash was bad enough, but when the two of us travel together things got infinitely worse. I stopped quickly, and landed a few feet in front of Ash with a cocky smirk on my face. "How that for keeping up, slow poke?" I taunted him playfully and he returned it with an equally playful grumble about irritating older sisters. _"That's right, I'm glad he sees me like family too. He is too young to be dealing with all this without and family to back him up. It's been a long time since I've had a brother like Ash."_ I countered his grumble with a swift remark about silly younger brother aimed at Brock before we both stated laughing. We carried on like this for several miles before Ash lit up and took off, shouting over his shoulder at us, "Hey guys come on, I see Rota!" Dawn, Brock, and I shared a look about Ash always running off before we took off after him. We caught up to him as he reached the city gates, all of us falling into the flow of people entering the city. I separated from the others in the crowd moving much slower, " _Rota huh . . .,"_ my frown deepened as I felt tendrils of dread work their way into my heart, " _I really hope I'm just being paranoid, but with Ash here too I can't be too careful"_

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 _Listen here and listen well_

 _Travelers all of here or there_

 _Falter not when past these gates_

 _For beyond them lies no safe way_

 _But struggles hard and dangers plenty_

 _Oh worry not, as you go forth never alone_

 _For the Guardians travel throughout this land_

 _Protecting the good and defeating the bad_


	3. Of Auras and Suprises

" _Thoughts"_

" _ **Telepathy/ Aura speech"**_

"Speaking"

 _Singing_

 **I do not own Pokémon.**

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"Hey Isabell, there you are! Where have you been? We've been looking all over for you! Pikachu, she's over here!" I turned from where I was browsing one of the stalls set up for the festival to face Ash, who had just turned a corner when he saw me. "Ah, I lost everyone in the crowd so I've just been looking around a little bit. Why, what's up," I questioned him, thanking the stall keeper for his time before heading over to where Ash was waiting. "Why!? You totally missed all my battles! Come on, there's a party starting soon for the festival," he replied as he grabbed my hand and started pulling me towards the castle. I allowed him to pull me after him as I took stock of his new appearance. The battles must have been costume battles seeing that Ash had on a fairly ridiculous outfit. _"Still, ridiculous or not those clothes are powerful. They almost radiate with Aura. . . It's like they're pulling Ash's own Aura closer to the surface. They would be an amazing training tool, so. . . why do they make me feel so sad?"_ I broke out of my thoughts as Ash and I reached the castle gates. He finally released my hand, and half-turned to throw me a smile over his shoulder as he led me though the gates and over to a medium sized room to pick out a costume of my own. "Ash, I really don't need a costume. I'll be fine" I tried to avoid my fate as Ash pushed me into the room. "No way, you're not getting out of this one Isabell." One look at his face informed me that there was no way I was getting out of this one. "Alright fine," I gave in with a much put upon sigh, "Get out and go enjoy your party, I'll go when I'm done." He frowned, not looking like he really believed me when I said I would go. "Hey, I'll go ok. I promise." Ash brightened up at that, he knew that I always kept my promises. "Ok, but don't take too long ok? See you soon Isabell!" I watched as Ash took off down the hallway, a smile on my face. _"It has been a long time since the two of us could just have fun together, hasn't it? It's been a few years at least. Maybe this will be good for us."_ I turned, shutting the door as I gazed over at the rows of costumes left. I walked down the rows, looking for something acceptable to wear. There wasn't a lot left, the festival must have had a good turnout. I wrinkled my nose at what I could see of the leftovers, the clothes were not in bad condition but. . . _"There is no way I'm wearing any of these. . .then again, maybe I don't have to."_ I remembered how Ash's costume radiated Aura, and while most of it was undeniably his there had been just a little bit that had been . . . different somehow. With this in mind, I closed my eyes and stretched out my senses. The world lit up in a dazzling display of blues as I activated my Aura Sight. The castle blazed in an inferno of blue. I was so startled that I almost dropped the Sight. There was a lot of really old Aura here in this castle, more so then I had seen anywhere else on this Earth. The only other place that had Aura that could be compared to this was the Hall of Origin. Focusing, I pulled my Sight back in to scan the remaining costumes. Nothing stuck out to me at first, most of the clothes only had a faint Aura to them. Some of the better costumes left had a more. . . there presence about them, no doubt from being handled a lot more by those other late party goers still looking for an outfit. Frowning. I started to drop the Sight when something finally caught my attention, or more precisely the lack of something. Moving carefully, I approached a small box that had been shoved forcefully under a shelf. Pulling on it gently, I unstuck the box before scanning it again with my Sight. It was almost unnerving, the absolute lack of any Aura. All things contain at least trace amounts of Aura naturally, either from being alive or being in contact with things that were alive, but this box was complete void of it. It was totally unnatural, but as far as I could tell it wasn't dangerous. Shrugging, I opened the box to reveal carefully packaged clothes. My frown deepened slightly as I looked at the Aura black hole that the clothes seemed to be. _"They don't seem dangerous or harmful. In fact, they almost feel . . . familiar somehow."_ A smile overtook what remained of my frown as I pulled the clothes out of the box. _"Well then I've definitely found my outfit, if only for the coolness factor."_ I quickly shed my own clothes to put the new ones on. Adjusting the fabric slightly, I turned to look the the large mirror I had found on my first exploration of the room. "Oh. . ." I stood speechless at the sight in the mirror, not believing that the person I was seeing could be me. It was such a little change, but apparently it made all the difference. Looking back at me, I saw a very mysterious stranger with an air of confidence and a knowing smirk on her face. She shifted back on her feet- the regal, true black, hooded cape resting precariously on her shoulders rippled. The cape almost liked like the slightest movement would send it flying off, but I could feel it instead firmly attached to the shirt underneath. While I couldn't sense any Aura earlier, there was definitely something of the kind in the clothes because whatever it is was acting like a powerful magnet keeping the cape on. I tugged experimentally on the silken fabric and was surprised by the strength it had. It also seemed to be very warm fabric, which was rather odd considering how thin the fabric was but I just chalked it up to the really weird Anti-Aura it had- and yes I did just make the name up. The equally silken shirt underneath the cape, well it was more of a cloak actually, was a deep electric blue that reminded me vaguely of someone I didn't remember. It was a long shirt that was actually probably a tunic. The tunic reached down to my mid-thigh and flared out slightly at the bottom, allowing for better movement. A pair of shin- length pants made of the same black fabric of the cape/cloak fit loosely, but came with a sturdy leather belt with a tarnished silver buckle. My normal shoes were replaced by a pair of well-made, deep blue, calf length pair of boots and a pair of fingerless, black leather gloves completed the ensemble. All in all, she looked like a very different person. The smirk in the mirror grew larger as I gave myself one last look before heading out to where the party was. I move swiftly and silently, _"Heh, like a thief in the night. Although, hey seem to have a rather lax security here. Most of the guards must be with whoever currently owns the castle."_ I stopped on a dime in front of a large pair of doors, already feeling the pulsing life from within. _"The new clothes must raise my sensitivity to Aura. . . sweet."_ I quietly opened the doors and scanned the room for Ash and the others. I found Misty and Brock out on the dance floor and sweet Arceus Brock is dancing with an actual girl. I paused in my search in order to process the impossibility before me before shacking it off and entering the room to find Ash. He wasn't on the dance floor, but I found him sitting up on some kind of . . . thrown? _"Ok, then. . ."_ Preceding with my original plan, I moved sneakily and- placing myself directly behind Ash's right shoulder- threw a sharpened pencil right next to his face. He jerked away from the projectile violently and quickly turned to face where I was, eyes impossibly wide. I easily dodged the attacks from the two men standing guard before jumping backwards to where Ash had finally stood up after getting over the surprise pencil. "Whoa, it's okay guys I know her. Isabell does stuff like that, I'm fine and no one was hurt," Ash tried to calm the angry guards down as I stuck my tongue out at them. "You are not helping Isabell!" " _Opps, he caught me."_ I stopped teasing the guards to meet Ash's irritated expression and suppressed a giggle. "Sorry Ash, I don't get to mess around much anymore. Ah, it doesn't matter anyways." I quickly add, seeing his face drop. "Hey you should be out there dancing, and speaking of dancing did you see Brock? He's dancing with a real girl, like an actual one!" I paused on my monologue on Brock dancing when I felt Ash's irritation had turned to frustration. "What?" He sighed before slouching back down onto the thrown he had been sitting on before I had arrived. "I can't," he explained unhappily, "I won the tournament and became the 'Aura Guardian' for this year so I have to stay up here." _"Oh he is not happy about that at all"_ I glanced over at the other people near by to forestall having to make Ash feel better. I am not very good at that, I'm much better at offering sarcastic comments. "Hey, who's the other kid?" I asked as I peered at the girl's odd Aura. It wasn't all that powerful like Ash's and mine's Auras were, but it was incredibly refined. I had never seen Aura like that in a human so young. "Oh, that's the Princess. Her name is Eileen." _"The Princess huh, then she has old blood tied in with the castle. That would explain her Aura nicely."_ I broke out of my thoughts as the princess stood at announced one last tribute to the knight this festival was dedicated too. I will admit that I was not paying a lot of attention to her. Instead, I was focused on trying to place the strange Aura I felt close by. It felt . . . hurt is the best I could come up with. Hurt and betrayed and sad, so very sad. It was almost painful to me, but at the same time I was being drawn into it. I moved out of the way as the old lady behind Ash whispered loudly at me. I watched curiously as Ash copied the pose from a painting to our left. _**"I believed in you."**_ I whipped my head around as the words echoed in my mind, the strange Aura pulsing. My attention was refocused on Ash as the staff he had been holding began to shake violently. I stepped closer to him as the jewel on the staff began glowing with the power of Aura before something shot out of it. My eyes widened slightly as I took in the crouching figure of an incredibly rare pokémon I had only ever heard of. I could scarcely even breath as the black and blue jackal slowly stood and scanned the room, it's closed eyes telling me it was likely using Aura Sight. I trembled at the raw power and emotion emanating from it's Aura. _"It's a . . ."_ _ **"**_ A Lucario."

 _Oh stranger from a time unknown_

 _Whose heart is filled with pain and sorrow_

 _Though never will you say with words_

 _Your soul cries out broken and alone_

 _And grieving though that you may be_

 _Still will you fight with me_

 _And when your time to act appears_

 _You will know your friend is near_

 _Let not your end tear you apart_

 _But mend the gap between your hearts_


	4. May the stars lead you home

" _Thoughts"_

" _ **Telepathy/ Aura speech"**_

"Speaking"

 _Singing_

 **I do not own Pokémon or the Black and White theme song. I don't know who does, but it isn't me.**

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I felt Ash's Aura flicker in confusion at my strange reaction to the pokémon in front of us, and unfortunately I wasn't the only one. The Lucario's head snapped in our direction and almost immediately focused in on Ash. With quick movements that had even me caught off guard, the Lucario was in front of Ash and was nearly yelling at him. _**"Why did you betray the Queen?!"**_ I blinked confusedly at the accusation thrown Ash's way, " _Wait, I thought Ash had never been here before?"_ I gently probed the Lucario's Aura again, and a corresponding shudder ran through the castle's Aura. " _Ehhhh? That's not supposed to happen. That's not even supposed to be possible! What is going on here?!"_ I got pulled from my thoughts as the Lucario opened his eyes and looked around the room again, his shock cutting through the waves of hurt and anger in his Aura. His sharp eyes quickly viewed his surrounding again before meeting my own, my eyes having not left the Lucario since his appearance. He recoiled just slightly, eyes widening a fraction, before he bolted from the room and down the stairs next to the balcony; disappearing into the night. I stared after the Lucario even as I let my Aura Sight fade, a small frown on my face at the reaction he had had to seeing me. "What was that?" Poor Ash sounded absolutely confused as he moved up to where the princess and her assistant were standing. My frown lessening into a tiny smile as I joined Ash and the other two, still staring out into the night. "That, Ash, was a Lucario. They are a very rare, very reclusive, and very powerful breed of pokémon with an incredibly rare ability. I'm sure you noticed it." I finally tear my eyes away from the doorway to flash Ash a smirk as I shift slightly so that I'm facing him. Ash blinked and furrowed his forehead like he did when he was thinking hard, "Oh yeah, you mean like how he talked right?" He said, happy to have figured it out, "I kinda thought it was just because of my Aura, but then I figured that it had never worked that way before so it was weird." I suppressed a chuckle at Ash's strange thought process before continuing with my explanation, "Yeah that's right. Lucario are also known as the Aura pokémon because they, along with their pre-evolution form Riolu, have the ability to feel and manipulate Aura. I actually learned the basics of how to manipulate my own Aura from watching a gym leader's Lucario training, although at the time it was still a Riolu." Ash's eyes had gotten incredibly wide the more I explained so I paused to allow him his questions before he exploded. "Whoa are they really? That's so cool! I would never have guessed that was how you learned Isabell, is that why you can't really use Aura for attacks or anything?" I raised an eyebrow at Ash's exclamation. " _Hmm, I didn't think he'd pick up on that."_ I nodded in agreement, "Yes, actually, that's right. Because Riolu usually don't have the control or the access to the amount of Aura necessary to use anything other than internal things like Aura Sight or muscle strengthening, they don't bother with any more versatile attacks or defenses until they evolve. That's the main reason I've been limited to things like really simple barriers and healing. Throwing a barrier up is pretty Aura consuming for me still, and the only reason I'm so good with healing is because of all the extra practice I've had to do. Plus, healing comes really naturally to me. I suspect that it may be an interagral part of my Aura's composition. I have tried to use Aura Sphere before, but it either didn't form at all or it exploded violently in my face so I had to stop." I stopped talking to rub my throat, a grimace on my face. It was unusual for me to go on like this, but I was the only one here who knew this much on Aura and I actually really enjoyed teaching Ash regardless of what it was about. "That said, not much about this situation makes a lot of sense from my perspective but . . ." I trailed off as I felt the castle pulse again with Aura, "Hmm, maybe our new ally will offer a better insight to what has happened. I'll see you later Ash." I offered a nod to the princess before I took a page out of the Lucario's Book of Dramatic Exits and left via jumping off the balcony. I easily ignored the surprised gasps and cries of the festival goers and disappeared into the trees next to my landing spot, pulling the hood of my cloak up as I went. I traveled at high speed through the mini-forest, following an old and very faint Aura path, my eyes flashing a crystalline blue when I activated my Aura Sight after I lost the feel of the trail. I traced the Aura into a small, and definitely private, garden that was in terrible condition. It was pretty obvious that the current inhabitants of the castle didn't know this garden is here. Everything was in awful repair, but stretching out my Aura showed me that everything was still relatively healthy. I used an Aura infused hand to tug my cloak back off my shoulders before kneeling down and placing a hand gently on a bare patch of earth. I searched first for any already present Aura pathways and after finding only a few still viable ones I carefully created some new ones, slowly tunneling down into the root system with my Aura before spreading it out to cover the entire garden. I felt more than saw the changes as I retracted my Aura back. I stood, brushing my hand against my pants to take off any dirt, and surveyed my work. The plants were now a bright and healthy green and some of the flowers were even blooming. Now that everything is healthy, it was no great challenge to clean up the rest. The plants received the trimming they so desperately needed, some weeds that had broken threw the stone pathway were pulled, and all the fallen leaves from the large tree in the middle of the garden were sept away with a quick blast of Aura. After surveying the product of my work, I was quite pleased with how things had turned out. _"All in a day's work, eh. Who would have thought, this is actually a pretty nice place right here. Hmm, there's not anywhere to sit though . . ."_ I looked around the little space again before turning my attention to the large tree. _" Hmm . . . I can so make that jump."_ A smile spread across my face as I backed up to the edge of the small garden before taking a flying leap into the branches of the tree. I steadied myself carefully on one of the larger branches before straitening and looking for a larger branch I could move to safely after the branch I was currently standing on creaked a little it. _"Oh, that's not good. That is most certainly not good at all."_ I wobbled as the branch creaked again, this time with a cracking sound as well. Some slightly frantic head movements revealed a larger, much thicker branch, and some carefully and very controlled steps I made my way across several other questionable limbs to reach the one I was after. _"Yikes, that was a close one!"_ I sat down on the branch, looking out into the night. _"Wow, this spot has a really good view!"_ I was smiling like a loon at this point as I tapped back into my Aura Sight. The world around me lit up even brighter than the castle had, the swirling Aura of all the individual plants and the residue Aura from all the people who had left their mark on this place and this place on them. My own Aura reached out to join with the symphony of swirling feelings and emotions held in this place. It was a happy place, but there was lingering sadness here as well. My loon smile melted down into a soft, calm one as I relaxed into the gentle night air. I shifted slightly, placing more of my weight of my hands as I leaned forward and took a deep breath to begin.

 _It's always hard_

 _When the journey begins_

 _Hard to find your way_

 _Hard to make amends_

 _But there's nothing you can't do_

 _Cause you've got the power inside of you!_

 _It's never easy,_

 _To make a choice_

 _To keep things inside_

 _Or raise your voice_

 _For everyone there comes a time_

 _When the light inside begins to shine_

 _It's not always right or wrong_

 _As long as your spirit's strong_

 _It's not always win or lose,_

 _It's the road you chose_

 _The answers within_

 _It's not always black and white_

 _But your heart always knows what right_

 _Let the journey begin_

There had certainly been quite a lot of journeys that had happened in this place. Maybe not the garden itself, but definitely from the castle. This had been one of the key points of the ruling world during times of war and it showed in how powerful the Aura echoing through the castle walls. There had been a large number of well trained Aura users who had called this place their home. This had been a place full of life and companionship and learning, even during some of the darkest times.

 _So many choices_

 _How do we know?_

 _So many places,_

 _Where do we go?_

 _What should I say,_

 _What should I do?_

 _But we're together_

 _Me and You_

 _It's not always right or wrong_

 _As long as your spirit's strong_

 _It's not always win or lose,_

 _It's the road you chose_

 _The answers within_

 _It's not always black and white_

 _But your heart always knows what right_

 _Let the journey begin_

 _There's nothing you can't do_

 _Cause you've got the power inside of you_

 _It's not always right or wrong_

 _As long as your spirit's strong_

 _It's not always win or lose,_

 _It's the road you chose_

 _The answers within_

 _It's not always black and white_

 _But your heart always knows what right_

 _Let the journey begin_

The song ended strong, the last note reaching out into the darkness with power. My smile widened as I leaned back to view the stars, the surrounding Aura dancing with feelings of joy and belief. I spoke softly out into the darkness, trying not to scare away my silent visitor, "You know, I've always loved watching the stars. If you put in the time to get to know them, they will always lead you home. They stand as a connection between people and the legendries who protect us. There's a lot of symbolism involved with the stars, always has been and it's likely that there will always will be." My eyes never left the sky, even as my Aura reached out to brush against the shadow. My smile widened unnoticeably as a figure emerged from behind a particularly large bush with silent, but deliberate steps. I shifted my eyes from the stars to meet a pair of bloody red ones as their owner stepped fully out from under the cover of the trees. I offered him a closed-eye smile, even as I pushed my Aura into his own in a playful manner. He reeled back in shock-(Go Aura Reading!)- at the action and began to look around furiously. _**"Who was that! Show yourself!"**_ He called out angrily. I blink in shock at his outburst until I remembered that my costume acted as an Aura Void. _"Oh shoot, I totally forgot!"_ I cringed at my idiocy. "No, wait! Calm down, that was just me!" I cried out, hoping to keep the Lucario from fleeing or attacking. He turned a terrifying look in my direction, _**"How could that have been you, you don't even have enough Aura to have a presence."**_ "Don't you find it odd that I don't have any Aura at all? My clothes were made specifically to hide a person's Aura," I shot back at him, using his own words against him. The Lucario growled low in his throat, but took a second look at my clothes with his Aura Sight. I sighed with relief when his Aura calmed back down. "Sorry about that. I just got this outfit an hour ago, so I forgot about it. Besides, it's really not that noticeable to me." I rubbed the back of my head in embarrassment before pushing off of the branch and landing a few feet in front of the Lucario. "Now then, what can I do for you," I asked as I brushed my cloak off. His eyes narrowed at this, _**"What makes you think you can do anything for me,"**_ he asked lowly. I smiled at this, "Well, you obviously came here for a reason and I doubt it was just to hear me sing. After all, you didn't have to reveal yourself. As far as you knew, I couldn't tell you were there. But you did, and you still here so obviously your subconscious knows something's wrong even if your pride won't admit it." I stretched, popping my back a couple of times as I waited for him to respond. _**"How did you find this place?"**_ He suddenly asked, looking around at the garden. _"Well, that wasn't what I expected him to ask."_ I blinked at his apparent non-secular but shrugged and rolled with it, "It wasn't hard. I just followed the Aura trails I saw flash when you made your dramatic exit earlier. I almost lost it at several places where the residue Aura had degraded enough that it blended into it's surrounds but I just flashed my own Aura to help distinguish the different Auras to pick the trail back up again." I trailed off, rubbing my throat with a frown. It was really starting to hurt. Closing my eyes, I focused my Aura Sight inward. I studied the greenish tint the Aura around my throat had taken and concentrated on shifting the Aura in my hand to match the green tint all the way through. Calming my Aura back into it's usual blue state, I pulled my hand away from my now healed throat. Hearing a low gasp, I opened my eyes, dropping my Aura Sight as I did so, and turned to face the Lucario. "What," I asked confused. _**"Wha- how did you do that? And what happened to your eyes, they changed color?"**_ I blinked at him again, before answering "I used Aura to heal my sore throat, and my eyes changed because I dropped my Aura Sight. Why, is that unusual?" I hadn't really ever thought about it, having learned my Aura skills from watching someone else practice, but I didn't really have a basis for normal when it came to Aura. _**"Is that unusual! Yes, I have never even heard of it before. Just what is your Master teaching you?"**_ The Lucario was becoming irritated, no doubt because of my lack of knowledge when dealing with Aura. "I ah, I don't actually have a teacher if that's what you mean. I just kinda learned from watching a Riolu practice." I shrunk down under the weight of his stare as he seemed to measure me up against something. "Was- was that bad," I asked hesitantly, almost not wanting him to answer. _**"No . . ."**_ He began slowly, _**"No, it was not bad. In fact, if that was your only form of instruction then you have done incredibly well. It would also explain why you have such a loose hold over your Aura."**_ I was being surprised a lot during this conversation, "A loose hold? You mean how Aura flows right? I did try having a tighter control over it, but that felt really unnatural to I stopped. But. . . I haven't been doing anything wrong have I?" I felt very uneasy at possible teaching Ash wrong, but the Lucario quickly fixed that, _**"No what you are doing is not wrong, it is just different. You use your Aura more like that of another pokémon than a human."**_ _"I use Aura like a pokémon, really?"_ I had never thought of that, but it would make sense. "That's good then," I said with relief, "I'm glad I haven't been leading Ash astray." The Lucario frowned, _**"Who is this Ash you speak of, and why are you teaching him anything when you are not trained yourself,"**_ He seemed rather confused at the idea. I chuckled a bit before replying, "Ash is the boy you confronted earlier, and as the only other Aura user that either of us know of I knew it was an awful idea to leave someone with as much power as Ash completely untrained. I haven't done much but every little bit counts and at least now he can tell when he's walking into a trap." I snorted loudly at that, "Not that that stops him or anything, he doesn't really care about his own safety much when someone else needs rescued." _**"Then he is a fool,"**_ the Lucario stated offhandedly, the swirling of his Aura indicating that he didn't want to discuss Ash anymore for whatever reason. "Perhaps," I agreed with the jackal, "But if he is, then he's a very lucky fool." I turned my attention from my conversation partner back to the sky after that, the matter settled for now. The peace was shattered a few seconds latter by the boy we had just been discussing, "Isabell! Where are you? Sorella?!" Ash called out, using his own fledgling Aura skill unconsciously to seek me out. My attention was shifted to Ash immediately and I responded quickly, _**"Ash! What's the matter, no never mind! Give me thirty seconds."**_ I turned to say goodbye only find that the Lucario was no where to be seen. _"He must have left after feeling Ash's Aura. . ."_ I didn't have time to dwell on that though, and I quickly pulled my hood back up before setting out after Ash's Aura signature at top speed. I scaled the castle walls and dropped in through a window before feeling my Aura shutter oddly and I teleported next to Ash with a burst of visible Aura. I couldn't sense any danger, though Ash's Aura was filled with worry. I glanced around to room to make sure nothing was hiding from my Aura senses before look at Ash. The look on his face was grave and determined, and I most certainly didn't like it. The last time I say him with that look on his face he almost died, twice. "What happened," I asked with great hesitation. He simply looked at me for a few seconds before replying with something I never expected to hear and never wanted to ever again, "Pikachu is missing."

 _May the stars be your guide_

 _And their light be your hope_

 _May your trails be through_

 _With no danger to fight_

 _For your destiny met_

 _And your soul on the line_

 _These action you take_

 _Will now define your life_

 _Hand in hand, the ending should be_

 _Together again, for brothers you are_

 _But if you are true_

 _And life you do give_

 _Then together again,_

 _Alive_

 _Friends beyond even the very end_


	5. That Which Could Be

OK, so this isn't a real chapter sorry to disappoint you all. I feel a little down that only one person thinks my story is worth favoriting and I'm fairly sure that person is the one helping me write it. :( On that semi- depressing note, (sorry!) I was really wanting to put a song in chapter 4 but I was having a really difficult time choosing one because I could fit several into the storyline right here. I ended up asking my friend his opinion on which song he thought would fit better at this point in the story. He actually went with this song at first, but after I actually wrote up a preview of each he changed his mind. Hence the chapter 4 you all got. The problem I had with that is that both of these songs fit so well and both prewrites were so good that I wanted to share with you all what could have happened. If I get some people who would like me to follow more along this version of the storyline I may do a companion piece of what could happen. I have more than enough material to work with. This starts out the same as the other, but the tone differs greatly once it reached the song.

 **I don't own Pokémon or the song, I don't know who does but it isn't me.**

My own Aura reached out to join with the symphony of swirling feelings and emotions held in this place. It was a happy place, but there was lingering sadness here as well. My loon smile melted down into a soft, calm one as I relaxed into the gentle night air. I shifted slightly, placing more of my weight of my hands as I leaned forward and took a deep breath.

 _Tried to walk together,_

 _But the night was growing dark_

 _Though you were beside me,_

 _But I reached and you were gone_

 _Sometimes I hear you calling,_

 _From some lost and distant shore_

 _I hear you crying softly,_

 _For the way it was before_

 _Where are you now?_

 _Are you lost?_

 _Will I find you again?_

 _Are you alone?_

 _Are you afraid?_

 _Are you searching for me?_

 _Why did you go,_

 _I had to stay_

 _Now I'm reaching for you_

 _Will you wait, will you wait?_

 _Will I see you again?_

My heart ached at the aching emotions swirling up through the Aura present in this small little safe haven. Whoever had been maintaining this place had suffered some great heartache, and it reminded me terribly of the strange Lucario's Aura. It worried me that anyone's' Aura could feel so broken. I hated it, hated that I couldn't do anything to help. Healing and protecting are a major part of me and to see someone in such great pain and not being allowed to help almost physically hurts.

 _You took it with you when you left_

 _These scars are just a trace_

 _Now it wanders, lost and wounded_

 _This heart that I've misplaced_

 _Where are you now?_

 _Are you lost?_

 _Will I find you again?_

 _Are you alone?_

 _Are you afraid?_

 _Are you searching for me?_

 _Why did you go,_

 _I had to stay_

 _Now I'm reaching for you_

 _Will you wait, will you wait?_

 _Will I see you again?_

My song died out slowly and softly, one of my hands coming up to wipe away the tears that had been pulled up by the emotional pain I was sensing. I gave no signs that I knew I was no longer along, waiting for my silent visitor to make the first move. I raised my face to the sky as I waited, leaning back into a more comfortable position to see the stars. I felt the Aura spike slightly, before a figure emerged without a sound from the undergrowth around the garden. _**"How are you doing this?"**_ His voice was rough, though weather that was from his raging emotions or because he had gone so long without using it I couldn't tell. I turned to face him, an eyebrow raised in confusion caused by his non-secular, "Doing what, sitting on the branch? It isn't exactly difficult." His brow furrowed at my semi sarcastic response, but he shrugged it off, _**"No. I meant how are you hiding your presence like that. It should be impossible, not even Sir Aaron . . ."**_ he trailed off, his Aura twisting painfully. He caught my wince, but refrained from commenting on it so I took the initiative "It's not me doing it, it's the clothes. I couldn't tell you how they do it, but they seem to emit some kind of anti-Aura that creates a sort of void. That's how I found them anyway, but I've never been able to tell if my Aura Sight actually works like it's supposed to." He was understandably confused at my explanation, _**"What do you mean 'if your Aura sight works?' Just what has your Master been teaching you?"**_ I flinched a little more from his anger. "I- I don't have a Master. I just tried to copy a Riolu that I saw practicing," tears welling back up under the whirlpool of emotions, "Could you please calm down some, I'm fairly sensitive to Auras and yours is very powerful right now." I scrubbed furiously at my eyes with the edge of my shirt, trying to stem the flow of tears. He seemed to realize what was happening because I felt his Aura recede from our surroundings and come back into control. _**"Ah, my apologies. I had forgotten how Aura sensitive some beings could be. Although it is quite odd to find that kind of sensitivity in a human, especially one without any formal training. Not even my Master could. . ."**_ he trailed of for a second time, presumably talking about the same person too. _"That is highly unusual, from what I can remember Lucario are know for having an inbred sense of justice and refuse to stay with people who are cruel or evil." "_ I don't mean to pry," I began hesitantly choosing to talk instead of risk getting caught up in his Aura again, "But . . . did you loose your teacher recently?" I actually fell off the branched at the sudden wave of painful emotions that burst forth for a few moments before the Lucario forcibly pulled his Aura back in. I flipped mid-air, landing silently in a crouch beneath the tee. "Right, not on good terms then. Good to know," my breathing hitched a bit under the force of the Aura but it settled out quickly. _**"Why? Why did he betray me? Why would he betray his kingdom?"**_ The Lucario seemed incredibly upset, but thankfully wasn't broadcasting it anymore. "I couldn't say for sure, since there aren't any records and I wasn't there myself, but have you considered that it was the only acceptable option," I asked carefully, "After all, we know that whatever this 'Sir Aaron' did after sealing you stopped a huge war from happening and saved millions of lives, including this entire city. Is it possible that his action was an attempt to protect you?" I liked to think I was pretty good at this mediating stuff after all the ticked off legendries Ash and I had gone up against. _**"I-I hadn't considered that. It could be possible that that is what happened,"**_ he seemed almost shocked at there being another possibility and I could almost taste the relief in his Aura even though he wasn't projecting it. "Well then," I said smiling again, "There you go. You should always try to think the best the people who are closest to you." I started off back through the trees on my way to the castle, leaving the Lucario with one last mystery, _**"Goodbye!"**_ I called over my shoulder as I bolted to the castle before he could pick his jaw up off the ground. A carefully executed wall run and several precise window leaps later I was pulling myself up threw the floor into the room Ash and his friends were in. "Hey guys I'm back, so what have I missed?" I asked casually, before catching sight of their worried and nervous Auras. "Guys," I asked more sensitively, "What happened, what's wrong?" I looked at them all before focusing on Ash, who had that look on his face he always has before he ran off to challenge a legendary and the manage to actually win in a stupidly impossible manner that usually almost got him killed. It was a look that was part determination, part horror, and part crazy. "Ash . . .?" I asked very cautiously. He looked up at me and said two words I never wanted to hear, "Pikachu's missing."

 _Oh tears of pain and tears of grief_

 _Let not your heart cloud your being_

 _For if your let lies guide your mind_

 _Heartache and suffering is all you will find_

 _Reach out your hand_

 _And hear his cries_

 _So that you may find_

 _That which has been lost in time_


	6. The Journey Begins as One's Life Ends

" _Thoughts"_

" _ **Telepathy/ Aura speech"**_

"Speaking"

 _Singing_

 **I do not own Pokémon.**

 **limebreaklinebreaklinebreaklinebreaklinebreaklinebreaklinebreaklinebreaklimebreak limebreaklinebreaklinebreaklinebreaklinebreaklinebreaklinebreaklinebreaklimebreak**

"Wha-what do you mean 'Pikachu is gone', he can't just disappear?" I half asked and half demanded. Ash turned his attention back to the floor, "I mean he is gone, Mew took him." This did not help my understanding of the situation any, "Why would Mew take Pikachu? That doesn't make any sense. Are you saying one of the most harmless pokémon managed to sneak in here and forcibly take your rather high powered partner?" I asked, obviously skeptical at first, but the more I considered it the idea did have some merit, "Although . . .," I bit my bottom lip as I thought about what I actually knew about Mew, "Maybe it didn't have to. I seem to remember someone saying something about Mew being able to teleport. If it really can . . .," I trailed off, lost in thought. _"If Mew really can teleport, it could have just dragged Pikachu with it. And of course, Pikachu would not have any idea how to escape a teleportation, nor how to get back. With how young Pikachu is, he might not try to get back right away This . . ."_ ". . . is not good," I finished out loud. "What," the princess, _"I will have to get her name at some point.",_ asked very confused by my partial sentence. "Nothing important," I waved her off, "What we need to focus on is how to get Pikachu back." Ash jerked his head up to look at me with wide eyes, his aura swirling in confusion. I frowned, "I would never make you go find your partner by yourself Ash, what kind of sister do you think I am?" I was almost afraid to hear his answer. "No!" He jumped to reassure me, "That isn't what I meant. It's just . . .," He trailed off hesitantly, looking away from me. I moved a little closer to him so that I could reach out and gently put my hand on his shoulder, "Just what, kiddo," I asked softly, pulsing my own aura out in a calming manner. Ash sighed a little, before turning back to me, "It's just that you seem really uncomfortable here and I know that you don't like Pikachu very much. So I thought that maybe . . . that maybe you wouldn't want to come." He shrugged a little. _"He's serious,"_ was really all that could go through my mind at this point, like a broken record made to tear out my heart, _"He's really serious."_ I was horrified that Ash would think that just because I was a little jumpy—and since when could Ash read and correctly work out my feelings that easily—here I would leave him to deal with getting back his lost partner without me. "Ash, no . . . I would never do that, especially not to you. You're my little brother, you think I'm just going to let you go racing off to square off against a legendary of unknown power without me? I couldn't care less about how I feel concerning this place if it means I can help you find Pikachu. We may not be the best of friends like you are, but I don't hate him," I pulled Ash closer and snatched his hat off so I could ruffle his hair, "We'll find him, Ash, and we'll bring him home." I could feel Ash become less tense as I reassured him that I was not leaving again after only just coming back. He sniffed quietly, before giving me a tight hug and stepping back away—grabbing his hat back as he went. There was a furry of activity that was happening so that we could start up the mountain first thing in the morning as I slipped silently out of a nearby window to return to the quiet calm the night offered me. I quietly moved through the trees as I hunted down the clearing I had discovered earlier. After carefully scaling up the large tree occupying the center of the clearing again, I settled myself heavily onto a large and sturdy branch. Sighing, I pulled my hood back up as I leaned back against the main trunk of the old tree and looked up through the leaves to stargaze. Glancing at the moon, I tugged my hood down over my eyes as I was finally able to calm down and rest now that I was away from all the noise and rolling aura of the castle. Closing my eyes, I hummed a soft lullaby that I had heard somewhere along my travels as I settled in to sleep after a very long day.

 **Tap, tap, tap, tap, tap,** I was racing down a long and fairly narrow canyon—a heavy weight on my back and a sense on panic burred deep in my heart. My vision waivered as my lungs heaved in an attempt to get enough oxygen in me to keep me moving. I almost stumbled over a loose rock sticking up, my abused legs protesting painfully as I forcibly caught myself and kept running. I moved as fast as I could, which was far slower than I was use to being about to move, but I could feel the rapidly spreading tendrils of exhaustion sapping what remained of my speed. I pushed onward precariously, panting as blood dripped down my face. I turned a corner, skidding slightly as I almost lost my footing. Regaining my momentum, I came face to face with a spiraling mass of fire. My eyes widened in horror as I desperately tried to generate some kind of protection only to watch it fail as the plume of deadly fire hit in a terrible wave of burning heat.

I snapped into alertness, aura pulsing as my eyes flashed open. A hand lashed out to grasp at a nearby branch to steady myself as I desperately tried to calm both my rapid breathing and my whirling aura. The sun was just peaking over the treetops as I awoke, and except for the gentle calls of the birds everything was quiet. I leaned back against the tree trunk as the adrenalin faded from my system. Pushing my hood back from over my eyes, I checked the position of the sun again to get a rough guess of the time before pushing off my makeshift bed to land with a quiet thud on the ground. Stretching out the kinks from my back, I adjusted my cloak so it lied a bit off my shoulders and made my way to the castle. I arrived to the same flurry of activity I had left last night and quickly stretched my aura out find where Ash had ended up. I easily found his roaring aura near the front gates and eased my hood back down so I could pass through the castle without being stopped by the guards. I arrived at the castle gates, meeting up with the others who were loading up a yellow hummer with supplies they would need. My arrival received nods in greeting from Brock, Kid—who owned the hummer, and May as they loaded up the car and I ruffled Max's hair absently as I eyed the Lucario standing off to the side with the princess, a quick question to Max who informs me her name is Ilene. "I'm surprised that the Lucario is here, considering how hostile he seemed yesterday," I mention offhandedly to Max. "Oh yeah!" He exclaimed, "You left before everything go settled didn't you. Well, it got into an argument with Ash and then Princess Ilene talked to it and now Lucario has agreed to lead us up to find Pikachu," Max helpfully recounted what had happened after I left last night. "Hmmm," I murmured unconcerned, "That would make sense I suppose. . ." I trailed off thoughtfully as I observed the only fully trained Aura user left. Shrugging, I turned my attention back to the others as everything was finally loaded up. I moved over to where Ash had been sitting, no doubt lost in thought because of his lost partner, and carefully nudged his aura with my own. He jumped, my hand going to his shoulder to help steady him, and turned to me. "The car is loaded up now. I believe that we are ready to go now," I told him softly, before rising and meeting the gaze of the Lucario—who was now watching Ash and I. We locked eyes for a few seconds, studying each other cautiously, until I turned away to follow Ash to the vehicle. Kid and the others had already climbed in, and as I looked from the fairly crowded car to Ash and back again I quickly came to a decision. _"No way!"_ "Yeah, that's not happening," I said with an air of finality. Ash frowned, but nods and climbs into the car before shutting the door. "You have to get in, how else are you going to come with us," Brock asked from the front seat. I raised an eyebrow at the full car before shacking my head, "Don't worry about it, I'll just run. It's not a big deal." I stretched again, making sure that my aura was flowing smoothly. Brock and the others shared concerned looks, but Ash quickly ended the discussion, "She wouldn't get in, so let's just go." Kid started the car up and I turned to look at our supposed guide, "Well, after you then," I said politely—gesturing for him to lead the way. He eyed me again, no doubt wondering why I thought I could keep up with the vehicle while on foot. I half-smiled at him, then secured the cloak better around my shoulder. The Lucario started out, moving swiftly, and the hummer followed with several feet in between. I ruffled my own hair as I shifted slightly in place before I joined them, pushing off of the ground with enough force to leave cracks in the topsoil. I easily caught up to the others, and evened out my speed once I was just behind the Lucario. He had his eyes closed since he was using his Aura Sight to lead us, but he twitched an ear in my direction when I sent a small pulse of aura to warn him of my location. I easily kept up with the pace set, and eventually turned my attention to the canyon walls to try and map out our location later. We kept up moving steadily through the day, stopping only for a very short lunch before setting out again. Eventually, watching the canyon walls got boring and I switched to watching the sun so that I could make sure that we stopped early enough to set up camp in the daylight. It is no fun trying to set up in the dark, after all. As the sun sunk closer to the lip of the canyons I began to watch for possible camp sites. I spotted a good, flat, area that was large enough for the hummer and to build a fire close to a small river that, while dangerous to people like May or Max, would be no trouble for me. I slowed down a bit first to give Kid a warning, as well as flashing my aura at Lucario, before stopping completely, and waited until the hummer came to a stop and Kid rolled down the window before speaking, "There's a flat area just up ahead that would make a good place to camp and we are starting to run out of daylight." I gestured to the area I was referring to and stepped back so that Kid could drive over. I sighed at I watched everyone climb out before bringing a hand up to grip at the bridge to my nose in an attempt to stave off the headache that had been brewing all day. Rolling my shoulders, I went to help Brock get dinner set up but was stopped as the Lucario moved in front of me. Frowning, I looked down— _"Ha! At least I'm taller than someone other than Ash, that kid needs a major growth spurt"_ — and popped up an eyebrow at him, "'s there something I can help you with," I asked as I smothered a yawn. It had been a long couple of days since I had joined back up with Ash. _**"You should meditate more if you wish to continue your Aura training,"**_ he spoke softly before moving off and settling away from the camp. I watched him leave for a moment, then shock my head and joined up with Brock to help with dinner. It was a quiet night, everyone focused on getting up the mountain. I periodically glanced at Ash, trying to gage how he was dealing with the loss of his partner, but his usually very open face was now closed off. It worried me, but there was nothing I could do about it. I sighed, ruffling hair as I stretched out by back before bidding the others goodnight and settling down some ways away from the camp for the night.


End file.
